Boakai defends CDC headquarters demolition as enforcement of law

Published: August 23, 2025

MONROVIA — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai on Saturday defended the demolition of the opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) headquarters, insisting the action was the enforcement of a court ruling and not a political decision.

“The law is the law. It is not the government; it is the government’s implementation of the law,” Boakai told reporters upon his return from Japan. “The police were ordered to carry out the action, and they did. That demolition was simply the removal of people from premises that did not belong to them.”

Liberian police raided the CDC compound in Congo Town early Saturday, enforcing a ruling from August 13 by the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court that awarded the 4.23-acre property near Bernard’s Beach to the Estate of Martha Stubblefield Bernard. Judge George W. Smith determined that the CDC had no legal ownership of the land after reviewing deeds and boundaries, and instructed the Montserrado County Sheriff to carry out the eviction.

The Liberia National Police said it assisted court sheriffs in enforcing the order and maintaining calm during the operation. Authorities reported finding a pack of cartridges in a building reportedly occupied by CDC Secretary General Jefferson T. Koijee and two rifles in another structure on the premises.

CDC leaders condemned the demolition, arguing the case remains before the courts. Party Chairman Janga Augustus Kowo said the CDC had filed appeals in two related cases at the Civil Law Court. “The case between the CDC and its landlord is a civil matter that is going through adjudication at the Liberian judiciary,” Kowo said.